Department Faculty

Marla J. Keller, M.D.

Associate Director, Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research

Professional Interests

Marla Keller, MD is Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health. She is a practicing Infectious Diseases physician with a clinical and research interest in the prevention and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in adult and adolescent women.

Dr. Keller graduated from New York University School of Medicine, completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, and a fellowship in the combined Infectious Disease training program at Beth Israel Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. She completed the Clinical Research Training Prgram at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and was a faculty member at Mount Sinai for 9 years before coming to Einstein in 2007.

Dr. Keller's NIH-funded research includes the design and conduct of human studies to translate in vitro, murine, and macaque findings to the clinic with the ultimate goal of developing novel preventive strategies to reduce the global burden of HIV and HSV. She has led the clinical component of several large program project grants to advance development of topical pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) strategies to reduce the sexual transmisssion of HIV and HSV-2. She has completed first-in-human and Phase 1 safety, pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) studies of novel vaginal microbicide candidates and formulations (gels, tablets, and rings) for PrEP and contraception. She has also tested laboratory assays to assess biomarkers of microbicide safety and efficacy and to determine effects of candidate products on the vaginal microbiome. She is currently conducting studies in US and African women to assess effects of bacterial vaginosis and hormones on the PK/PD of antiretrovirals for PrEP.

Dr. Keller is a co-investigator of the Bronx/Manhattan consortium of the NIH-funded Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a multi-center, prospective cohort established in 1994 to investigate the impact of HIV infection on women in the United States. Her work in the WIHS focuses on understanding female genital mucosal immunity and the impact of HSV on HIV as well as improving HPV screening practices in HIV-infected women.

Dr. Keller is a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), a member of the HIV Medical Association (HIVMA), and a member of the Sexually Transmitted Infections subcommittee of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute Quality of Life Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents (a working group of the Office of AIDS Research Council). She was recently appointed Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Medicine and Associate Director of the Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore, which is funded by a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from NIH.